No parking
Parking and stopping
Written by Chris Prosman Reviewed by Dirk van Zuijlen
Updated
- Sign code
- E1
- Category
- Parking and stopping
- Traffic signs
- No parking
E1 prohibits parking: a blue circle with a red border and one diagonal red line. Do not park on that side of the road. Immediate boarding or alighting and immediate loading or unloading are not parking under the RVV definition.
What to do at this sign
Waiting for someone is not the same as immediate boarding. If you remain stopped without that immediate activity, it can constitute parking even if you stay in the car or leave the engine running. Consider what you are actually doing.
Example on the road
You stop and a passenger gets out immediately: E1 does not prohibit that as parking. Leaving the car waiting for someone still inside a building is different. Other stopping restrictions may nevertheless prohibit the first activity too.
Other conditions to check
Article 65 applies E1 to the side where it is placed, with a statutory exception for areas designated for parking. Also read any zone indication and supplementary panels. A letter P on an accompanying indication does not turn the red restriction into unrestricted parking.
How to recognise the sign
A blue circle with a red border and one diagonal red line.
Difference from E2 — No stopping
E2 has a red cross and prohibits voluntary stopping, including immediate boarding or alighting. E1 prohibits parking and retains that distinction.
E2 — No stoppingLegal basis
Frequently asked questions
- Can I wait if I remain in the car?
- Remaining in the car does not turn waiting into immediate boarding or alighting. It may still be prohibited parking.
- Can I let someone out immediately at E1?
- E1 itself prohibits parking. Immediate alighting is not parking, but other rules may prohibit stopping.
Explained in the course
Practise this sign for your theory exam
No parking belongs to the Parking and stopping category. In the CBR theory exam a traffic sign is almost never asked on its own: you are shown a situation and have to know what you may or must do in it. In the free sign trainer you practise the signs by category, with the explanation shown right after every answer.
Practise traffic signs for free Practise car theory: free mock exam
